Stats of a Qualified Applicant

[Curious_Joe*]

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I know the question ?Will I get in medical school with an ?X? GPA and ?Y? MCAT scores?? But I?m curious about what a qualified medical school applicant looks like. No, not physically, but by the way the Adcoms look at applicants. If you have any information about what a person?s ?resume? (GPA, MCAT score, Etc.) should look like before they should realistically expect to get accepted to an average medical school. I know the actual figures change yearly, but there has to be some information for people that would like to see how they compare. Any info would help. Thanks!

p.s. We all know a person with a 5.0 GPA from Harvard, with perfect MCAT scores should be in the running for an interview!
😀

 

[scootad.]

29+ MCAT, 3.5+ gpa. everyone else should not even apply. 😉

 

[Louweezel]

www.mdapplicants.com

 

[BobbyDylanFan]

i second that: www.mdapplicants.com

caution: sample pool is a bit small so don't crap yourself when LOTS of great stat/ec people are getting recjected 🙂

 

[Louweezel]

caution: sample pool is a bit small so don't crap yourself when LOTS of great stat/ec people are getting recjected

This is very true. Also, it lists you as rejected unless you put that you are actually accepted. If you take a look at some of those "rejected", it will say that they are still waiting.

Spread the word and ask people to contribute to the website!

 

[Mutterkuchen]

Obviously it depends on a lot of factors. but a generic student who has a chance could look like

GPA 3.5
MCAT 30
500 hours volunteer experience
Medical exposure through shadowing, volunteering, paid work


You can make up deficiencies in some areas by having strong areas elsewhere. I think that these are good middle-of-the-road goals.

Personally, my GPA is higher, my MCAT is lower and I have done things other than simply volunteering and shadowing. I have been accepted to medical school.

 

[nameless]

I think science GPA is really important. I had a 3.29 science and i think it kept me out of interviews for the top 15-20 (my non-science was 3.7). i tried to work the 'not being a cookie cutter' angle and had an above average mcat, great activities, but no love- not even a secondary from some of them. the only exception is pritzker- write a damn good secondary and they'll look at you. but generally if you're gunnin' for academia you better work your ass off in those science classes.

 

[Street Philosopher]

3.6/30 are decent stats

about half year of research + half year clinical or 1 year of one or the other is pretty decent extracurriculars.

supportive Letters of Rec.

good essays + interview.

that should be good enough for at least one acceptance.

 

[Street Philosopher]

Originally posted by kreno
Jesus! 500 hours of volunteer hours!

I think a good rule-of-thumb is take whatever a DO-applicant's stats and scores are and multiply by 2 and you should be semi-competitive for an MD program.

dude, what is your problem?

 

[CG-RN-MD2B]

Originally posted by Street Philosopher
dude, what is your problem?

He's just a little kid. He doesn't know any better.

 

[Albah]

Originally posted by kreno
Jesus! 500 hours of volunteer hours!

I think a good rule-of-thumb is take whatever a DO-applicant's stats and scores are and multiply by 2 and you should be semi-competitive for an MD program.

I applied DO, and if I were to double my GPA...then I would have one heck of a GPA over 7.5. 😛

 

[X]

If you are talking about getting in anywhere then GPA between 3.2-3.4 and an MCAT of 29 or above with good EC's and the rest of the junk should be enough. This won't get you into harvard but will most likely get you in somewhere. This I would say is the low end.

X

 

[Blitzkrieg]

why should an applicant have clinical exposure? I had plenty of it, but I learned most from actually being a patient...at my interviews (some at top schools, some at middle, some at lower) I discussed this with my interviewers, and they brought it up as well: Clinical experience does NOTHING for a pre-med; *Maybe* if they (like I did) go to the hospital with a doc on call in the middle of the night or whenever they are called..that is at least giving you a taste for the hours. My recommendation?

Do a little bit of clinical..because some admissions committees are still lame enough to think it matters..however, I would spend most of my time for volunteering doing cool and unusual stuff...non-medically related.......just my little bit...

 

[manicmaven]

Originally posted by Blitzkrieg
why should an applicant have clinical exposure?


Do a little bit of clinical..because some admissions committees are still lame enough to think it matters..however, I would spend most of my time for volunteering doing cool and unusual stuff...non-medically related.......just my little bit...

I'd have to disagree. I'm a little nervous about applicants that haven't had any or very little clinical exposure. Working in a hospital or clinic and knowing what it's like to work with sick people day in and day out should be something that reassures an applicant (and an adcom) that this is indeed where they'd like to spend the next 30-40 years.

If I had my way, I'd make every applicant spend three months as a crapped-on CNA in the typically understaffed nursing home to realize how hard some of the staff you will work with have it, and how much care some patients need (and often aren't getting). Some of the applicants I've met need to be brought down a couple of notches. Nothing brings humility like a nasty code brown.

 

[Sarah Kerr]

I totally agree manicmaven. You may spend your undergrad years doing interesting, non-medically related things...and then get to med school and realize that the sight of blood makes you nauseous, that you can't see someone throw up without vomiting yourself, or that you absolutley cannot stand children/old people though you originally planned on going into peds/geriatrics, etc. Not only will it give you insight to what the others around you are doing, like manicmaven said, but it could also help you decide early on what you would like to specialize in. I am still in undergrad, but volunteering in high school steered me towards an interest in pediatrics...and then more volunteer work these days made me interested in pediatric oncology and neonatology.

I've had a lot of boring volunteer experiences...running paperwork, filing, etc. But you can do "cool" stuff thats medically related, too....sometimes you have to look a little harder, but it's out there. And you'll probably be thankful for it later. If not, I don't know what to tell ya.

 

[PMED99]

You know, I keep hearing about how anyone with a MCAT less than a 29 should not apply and how a 3.4 and lower should not either. But, it is all relative. The people with low gpas and MCAT scores should apply to lesser schools.
I have a friend who had a 3.2 (maybe lower) and a 25 on the MCAT. While he did not make it in, he got an interview to a top 20 school. And he had BAD people skills, so I cant imagine him doing well in the interview.
Also, I followed a doctor who had a 2.7 gpa but a 30 MCAT. Of course it took him three tries and a masters, but he is now a highly respected MD.
So, to answer the question, there is no easy answer. But to help you out, here are some lows I know of.